Secrets and Lies
by xmyxparadisex
Summary: I really don't know why I told him. Or why he listened. Or why he talked later on. I think at that point we both really needed someone to talk to and we were just there.
1. Chapter One: The Prologue

**_Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the plot, everything else belongs to JK Rowling._**

**A/N: Okay, so I wanted to try out a darker, more edgier fic. Dont hurt me if it comes out crappy, I just wanted to try something new.**

**P.S. This plot has been done many times before...so don't yell at me saying I took you're story.**

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I...have been keeping secrets all my life. It's what I do. Other people have Quidditch or books, but I have my secrets. And my lies. I didn't like lying but sometimes it had to be done. I lied to the people closest to me. My friends and my family. They didn't need to know what went on in my life. No one did.

I was always in the spotlight. I don't know why I was. I didn't think I should be. Maybe it was because I was nice or maybe because I had a lot of friends. Even though most of the people I hung around with could be anything but friends. Laughing and gossiping were their thing, not mine. I don't know why I hung around. We told each other things. Mostly the stuff _they _wanted to hear.Who I liked,who we wanted to die, who slept with who, y'know that sorta thing. Though, they never dug deeper. Never seemed to want to know anything more in each others lives.

So, I really don't know why I told him. Or why he listened. Or why he talked later on. I think at that point we both really needed someone to talk to and we were _just there_.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. We all need to know the beginning to know the end.

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**A/N: Good, Bad? Review**


	2. Chapter Two: The Beginning

**_Disclaimer: Nothing is mine except the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling._**

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It all started when I was eleven and starting my first year at Hogwarts. I was so excited to go. My brothers, all older than me, had gone to Hogwarts. One of my brothers, Ron made friends with Harry Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived. And I...I was terribly crushing on him. Everytime he talked, I listened intently. I secretly hoped he would notice me. He never did. 

When we arrived at Hogwarts, I was sorted into Gryffindor, along with everyone else in my family.

One night while I was sitting on my bed, I remembered that I had Transfiguration homework and went to fetch the textbook out of my cauldron. What surprised me was that another book fell out with it. A black, leather bound book. I flipped open the pages, all blank. Looked to me like an ordinary diary. So, I thought I could write in it, tell it my feelings and about my love for Harry Potter. That's where I made my first mistake.

I met someone through that diary. Tom Marvolo Riddle. He was my friend. My only friend. I thought I could trust him. But then when I told him about Harry, he wanted me to do things. Help him become free, he had said. And I wanted him to be, I really did. So, I did what he asked. Let the Basilisk loose and let it petrify some people. Then, he turned on me. Brought me down to the Chamber of Secrets to lie, dead, forever. Of course, Harry came to the rescue and I was saved. And that's when this whole thing really started.

That's when I began to keep secrets. Lying to people telling them that I was okay. I wasn't. I was still very much afraid. Scared of what had happened and how it would keep going on. I realized then what a dark world we lived in and how even if some of the most powerful dark wizards were killed, it would still be a dark world.

* * *

That summer, my father got a reward and our family went on a trip to Egypt to visit my older brother Charlie who worked with dragons. It was really amazing. 

Then school started up again and I found out that Harry blew up his Aunt Marge and run away from home. I also found out a serial killer was on the loose. Sirius Black.

We hopped on the Hogwarts Express. The trio left to go find a compartment alone and I wandered down the halls. I stopped at one compartment, hoping no one was in it. No one was, or at least for a few minutes. Draco Malfoy had just walked in. His father was the one that gave me the diary.

"Get out of here weasel," he snarled, standing in the doorway.

"No other compartments, sorry," I said.

"I don't care if there a-" he stopped mid-sentence, staring open-mouthed at something reflected in the mirror. He whipped around only to be faced with amost frightening scene.

A long, hooded creature floated outside our compartment. And at the moment, I felt a cold sensation go through me. I felt like I'd never be happy again. And then I heard someone scream from behind me. I turned around to see Malfoy on the floor, huddled in a ball. The dementor was swooping down on him and I remembered reading a book about protection spells earlier that summer. I yelled the Patronus charm, thinking of happier times and lead it out the doorway.

I looked down to see Malfoy passed out.

* * *

I left chocolate beside Malfoy when he woke up. I'd left to go change and find some of my "friends". And after a while, we arrived at Hogwarts. 

We sat at our tables, watching the first years get sorted and ate the feast. Dumbledore spoke after, telling us that Dementors would be guarding Hogwarts to be on the lookout for Sirius Black. Great, just what we needed.

Nothing exceptional happened to me this year. I was still terribly crushing on Harry.

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The summer before third year, my dad, brothers, Hermione, Harry and I all went to see the Quidditch World Cup. It was amazing seeing them fly around. I mean, these guys played Quidditch for a living! It was awesome. 

Though, we did see Malfoy and his father.

After the game when we were in our tents, noises could be heard from outside. Celebrating? No. Actually, Death Eaters had come to the Cup. We had to rush to safety. I was stuck with Fred and George. On the way to get out of there, I saw Malfoy just standing there looking up at the sky. I looked up to see what he was looking at; the Dark Mark.

That year in school was the Triwizard Tournament. Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum were picked to be the finalists, but then Harry's name was called and everyone thought he was being an ass, just trying to get attention; you had to be seventeen or older to enter and Harry was fourteen.

The tasks were pretty dangerous, dragons, merpeople and a maze with different obstacles. The Yule Ball was also this year. Neville asked me and to be nice, I accepted. Harry wouldn't ask me anyways.

During the last task, somehow, Cedric Diggory had died and Tom Riddle had come back. Oh, this was going to be great, just great.

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The next year, an angry woman that worked with the Ministry interrupted Hogwarts. Dolores Umbridge. Evil as can be. She was the one that got Professor Dumbledore taken away and then _she _was in charge. 

Also, Harry decided to start a club, the D.A. Dumbledore's Army. Of course I was part of it, part of it was because I wanted Harry to notice me and because we would be learning defense spells. One out of the two happened, I learned some defense spells, ones that could help me in the future. Harry? I heard he kissed Cho Chang.

Harry had helped Sirius Black escape in my second year, and him and Harry became close. But, of course Harry had learned he was in trouble at the Ministry and went to go save him. Neville, Luna, Ron, Hermione and I had also come along to fight.

That had to be one of the worst things I've ever experienced. Ron got attacked by some brains and went crazy, Hermione got attacked too and Harry learned that the whole "save me" thing was a plot for Tom Riddle to kill him. The next minute, the Order of the Phoenix had arrived and were fighting of the Death Eaters. Sirius was fighting Bellatrix Lestrange when he was hit with a spell and fell in to the vail and didn't come back. Harry was devasted, though he still had Tom to fight. But, of course, Dumbledore interrupted their fight and got rid of Tom, if only for a while.

Any good things happen this year? Gred and Forge made one of the school's corridors a swamp, embarassed Dolores Umbridge and flew off on their brooms. Also, I managed to date Michael Corner, dump him and begin to date Dean Thomas.

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Ah, fifth year, what a glorious year. Not. 

Harry had become majorly secretive with Ron and Hermione, of course this was nothing new. The last couple years he was always secretive.

So, I did my own thing. Hung out with my own friends, made chaser for Quidditch (Harry had become captain) and was still dating Dean Thomas. Though, one day, while, erm, snogging Dean outside Gryffindor Tower, Ron and Harry had, uh, walked by. 'Course, Ron blew his top, said I shouldn't be kissing anyone. I blew my top and said the Hermione had kissed Viktor Krum. BIG mistake. Next thing I knew, Ron was snogging Lavender.

That had set, Hermione off. She was angry most of the time, and stayed clear of Won-won and Lavender. Then, Ron was sent to the Hospital Wing because he had been poisoned, by accident. By this time, I had broken up with Dean and Ron was on the verge of dumping Lavender.

He did a few weeks later and Hermione had become happy again. And then the most wonderful thing happened. Gryffindor won the Quidditch House Cup and Harry kissed me. I was stunned to say the least, but definitely happy. He and I began dating and for a few weeks, the smile never left my face.

But, my joy didn't last long. Harry and Dumbledore left to go find Tom's horcruxes, while Neville, Hermione, Ron and I were told to drink his _Felix _drink which made us lucky and keep watch on the castle. The Order was also in the castle keeping watch.

The next thing I knew, Hogwarts was under attack by Death Eaters. We were fighting off hexes and curses left and right. I had no idea where Harry was. We were doing pretty good for a bit, then things started to decline from there.

Harry had come rushing down the Astronomy tower staircase and tried to rush outside. We also noticed that Bill had been attacked by Fenrir, a werewolf, who was not in his form that night. I, being as brave as I am, rushed after Harry and found him with Hagrid by, dare I say it, Dumbledore's body. Someone had killed him. I had taken Harry away to the Hospital Wing to be looked at. The attack was over, the worst was over for now.

In the Hospital Wing, we found out the Draco Malfoy was going to kill Dumbledore, but didn't have the guts to do it and Professor Snape had instead, killed Dumbledore with those fateful words. _Avada Kevadra_.

Bill was alright, I guess. He would not be a full werewolf, since Fenrir didn't bite him on the full moon, but he would have the symptoms of it. Phlegm, I mean, Fleur got into a shouting match with mum and somehow, ended up hugging her.

And the saddest part had to be Professor Dumbledore's funeral. He was buried on Hogwarts ground and everyone around wept for him. Harry shed some tears and unfortunately, he broke it off with me. Didn't want me to get hurt and all that rubbish. I was hurt, I really was.

That summer was when it all changed. For the good or bad? I had no idea at the time, and I didn't want to be involved.

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**A/N:: **Good or Bad? Review Please! It would mean so much to me. 

xo


	3. Chapter Three: Summer Pt One

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. JK Rowling does. The plot is mine, which ever way it goes._**

**A/N:: Already on the third chapter! Thanks for the reviews they mean a lot.**

**Please Note;; that the chapters from here on are in present tense, but still in Ginny's point of view.**

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Chapter Three: Summer Pt.One**

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"RONALD WEASLEY!" shouted my mum, "Get down here this minute!"

I cracked open my bedroom door to see my older brother coming down the hall and halt in the middle of the stairs that led into the living room. My mum was at the foot of the stairs, red in the face. She was angry.

"Y-yeah mum," he stuttered, gulping a few times.

"That would be a 'yes mum'," she replied.

"Yes mum."

"Ginny!" whispered Hermione from the twin bed she was sitting on in my room. "It's rude to eavesdrop!"

I rolled my eyes and turned to face her. "Hermione, _everyone _staying here will know about this tonight, my mum's yelling is loud enough to wake the next town over. Besides, Fred and George are in the kitchen," I whispered back.

Hermione hurrumphed and went back to her book. I went back to my eavesdropping

"Ronald, you look at me in the eye when you are speaking to me!" said my mum, sternly.

My brother lifted his head slowly, looking her in the eye. "I said yes mum, that's what we were planning to do."

What were they planning to do? I wondered.

"WHAT?!" she screamed. Her face got redder by the second. "You are NOT leaving school, you are NOT going off to find You-Know-Who and you WILL NOT let Harry or Hermione do that either!"

"But, mum," he whined. I rolled my eyes at him. He should've learned by now that when mum is mad nothing is going to change her mind, especially whining as pathetic as that.

"Don't 'but mum' me, Mister," she said. "You, Hermione and Harry will return to school with Ginny and that's final!" She sighed. "You may leave now."

Ron stomped back up the stairs, obviously mad.

I shut my bedroom door and turned to face Hermione. "You were going to leave?" I asked.

She put the book down and looked at me. "Well, Harry really wants to find the rest of the horcruxes, but I told him that we should finish at Hogwarts, but you know Harry, the stubborn one. So, the three of us agreed we would leave before school started," she replied.

"And how were you planning to do that?!" I was trying not to get angry at her. "Would you have just left in the middle of the night with a note explaining everything?"

"Not exactly, but Gin-"

I cut her off. "Not exactly! Are you stupid?! Why would you do something like that?"

"I'm not stupid!" Hermione answered. "And your mum wouldn't have let us just leave in the middle of the day!"

I stood up and walked over to where she was sitting. "And you know why?" I asked. "Because she doesn't want to worry about you, she doesn't want to sit up in the night wondering if you came back, and she _certainly_ doesn't want to get a knock at the door from a stranger who's telling her that her son is dead, along with his friends!" My voice had gotten louder by the minute and when I finished, I knew my eyes would be flashing with anger and my face would be red. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a fly on my broom." I took a deep breath and walked over to the door.

"Gin, you're ov-"

I whipped around. "Just shut the bloody hell up, Hermione!" I said and walked out the door, leaving a shocked Hermione behind.

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I walked over to the Quidditch Pitch my brothers had made, climbed a tree beside it and sat down on one of the branches. I always came up here when I was angry or sad. I had spent most of my time up here last summer and I realized I would probably be doing the same this year. I sighed and closed my eyes, a nap would do me good.

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I woke a couple hours later by the rustle of feet on the ground. I blinked my eyes, trying to get focus again. 

"Gin, is that you?" asked someone from below.

I knew that voice. It was Harry. Focusing my eyes below, I found the messy haired boy that I fell in love with. "Yes, Harry. I'm up here," I replied, climbing down.

"Hermione said you came out here for a ride a couple hours ago, but when the twins came out here twenty minutes ago they said they couldn't see you, so I came to check on you."

"Oh, joy, " I replied, sarcastically. I was still very mad at him for breaking up with me.

"Gin, it's for the best, remember?" he said, brushing the hair away from my eyes.

I slapped his hand away. "I can't believe you were planning on leaving the Burrow before school!"

He sighed, dejectedly. "Oh, you heard that?" Who didn't hear it?

"Everyone in the world could've heard that! Plus, Hermione told me."

"I think Hermione did mention something about you going off on her. Why do that?"

"Because the three of you were being stupid!" I shouted. "Really? Leaving one night to find the horcruxes or whatever Hermione was talking about, that's incredibly stupid! And you're supposed to be looking out for them!"

"I have Voldemort to fight, if you didn't know," he replied, angrily.

"Oh, trust me, I know. I've heard about it for the last six years!"

Harry sighed and threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "What's gotten into you Gin?"

"What do you mean?"

"You never used to be so angry and you never used to talk back to people. You were always so happy and carefree."

I sighed. "People change Harry, and that includes me." My stomach growled. "I'm hungry, I'm gonna get some food." I walked away, but stopped to look back at him. "And Harry?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Don't try to talk to me for the rest of the day."

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"Mum?" I asked, looking for her in the kitchen. 

"Yes dear," she replied, her head popping up from behind a cupboard door.

"Is it okay if I go to Diagon Alley today?"

"Alone?" she questioned, her eyes narrowing. Everything with mum these days made her mad.

"No," I lied, "Colin will be there and so will Fawna."

"Well, I guess so, but be back before supper. And don't get into any trouble! And if anything bad happens, leave straight away!" she exclaimed.

I kissed her cheek. "Don't worry mum, I'll be fine."

Oh, how wrong I was.

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After flooing out of The Leaky Cauldron, I headed into Diagon Alley. I knew that it was incredibly stupid of me to come here alone, especially with the Death Eater raids lately, but lately I wasn't one for rules. 

I stopped in at The Quidditch Store to look at their new brooms, and went to Madame Mulkin's and got fitted for new school robes, but other than that I was immensely bored. So, while walking around, I came upon a dead end brick wall. I knew what this lead to, but of course, I had never been in. Though, it would be a wonder to see what lie in Knockturn Alley.

The sound of footsteps and yells behind me made me focus my attention back to where I was. Looking behind me, I noticed masked figures down by The Leaky Cauldron. Ugh, bloody hell! This was not supposed to happen with me here. Panicking, I tried to look for a place to hide but found none. So, there I was, standing in the middle of the road, nowhere to hide and with Death Eaters coming towards me. So, not good.

Then, a hand shot out from behind me and dragged me behind the brick wall. The person, who looked like it would me male, put his hand over my mouth, and carried me to an alleyway. All the way, I was kicking and screaming.

"Fuck!" swore my capturer, letting go of me and looking at his hand. Yes, I bit him.

Turning around to face him, I almost fainted from shock. "M-malfoy?"

Running a hand through his hair and over his face, he managed to mumble, "'Ello Weasley."

"Why did you bring me here?" I whispered, frantically. "My mum's gonna kill me!"

"Why did I bring you here?" he replied. "Is that what you're asking? I just saved your bloody ass from those Death Eaters!"

I glared at him. "Or maybe you are one and you just captured me to bring back to Voldemort."

He glared back. "If I was one, I would've apparated back to his cave by now, or wherever he is." He sighed. "Geeze, Weasley. I saved your life."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

I groaned. "Why save me?"

He opened his mouth to say something when he heard the shouts of people behind him. "Shit!" He turned back towards me and grabbed me by the arm.

I opened my mouth to say something when he cut me off. "I'm not gonna kill you Weasley," was the last thing he said before he disapparated us.

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"You okay?" came the voice of Draco Malfoy. 

I staggered back a bit and had to hold on to his hand to keep me from falling. "Ugh, where are we?" I asked.

"About ten minutes away from your house," he replied.

"What? Why?"

He jerked his arm away from the hold I had on him and pushed me in the way of my house. I glared at him.

"Just go Weasley," he said, sighing. Still, I remained in the same spot and so, he repeated his orders. Yawning with newfound tiredness, I walked slowly away from him.

"Thanks, Malfoy," I said, turning back at him.

He shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Just be careful, Weasley."

I nodded and continued on my way home.

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"Ginerva!" my mum shouted as I walked in the door. "We just heard what happened in Diagon Alley. Are you okay?!" 

"I'm fine, mum. I made it out just in time," I answered, walking past her to head up the stairs to my room. I think a little rest and some quiet thinking would help me.

"How?"

"Some boy grabbed me and he disapparated with me to the field by the house."

"What about Colin and Fawna?"

What about them? Oh, hell. "They were heading back to The Leaky Cauldron at that point and made it back in time for the Floo. I'll owl them to make sure they're okay."

She rushed over to me and pulled me into a big hug. "I was so worried, I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm gonna go take a rest. Some time to think after what happened today and I'll owl Colin and Fawna," I said, pulling back from the hug and heading upstairs.

"Okay, love," was her reply.

Flopping onto my bed, I noticed Hermione wasn't in the room. Probably watching the boys play Quidditch. My last thought before I nodded off to sleep was that Draco Malfoy had actually looked scared.

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Looking back on that memory now, I realize that this was the point when it _all _changed. And nothing would ever be the same again.

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**A.N:: **All done, I tried to keep the characters, in what I thought, in their character. Anyways, please review!

_xo_


	4. Chapter Four: Summer Pt Two

**_Disclaimer: I own the plot and that's all. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling._**

**A.N.:: Thanks for the reviews and thank you for being patient with me to get this chapter up. You all deserve smarties. Here's the next chapter. ****

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Chapter Four: Summer Pt.Two

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The next week of summer was pretty hectic. Everyone basically forgot about my "incident" in Diagon Alley and whoever my mystery hero was. I was pretty relieved about that. 

Anyways, the next week we were getting ready for the wedding. Bill and Phlegm, ahem, Fleur's wedding. Which meant that family would be coming over, which meant even more people into the house, which got me stuck with Gabrielle Delacour as my other roommate. Not that I don't like her, but she _is_ related to Phlegm.

Mom was running around like a madman, trying to get everything perfect since the wedding was happening here. She was even crazier than Fleur or Bill, though Bill just had to mostly pick out his robes and agree with anything Fleur said.

But, of course, the best part of this whole week was when the bridesmaids had to get fitted for the dresses, and guess what? Fleur had picked me to be a bridesmaid. Oh joy. I was definitely not happy about this because well, Fleur, she absolutely _adores _pink. It's her favourite colour on the whole planet. And well, with my red hair, pink just looked nasty. So, I secretly hoped she would kick me out of being a bridesmaid. It could happen.

So, here we went, myself, Fleur, my mom, Fleur's mom, Gabrielle, and a couple of Fleur's cousins to a small boutique in London; muggle London to be exact. Why we went there, I had no idea at that time, but a couple hours into the wedding I asked Tonks and she had told me that Fleur's mother had bought a dress in muggle London at that same boutique and so had her mother and her mother and so on. A tradition, I guess.

As I was saying, about seven of us went to this little boutique in London. And this is where my second adventure began.

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"Ginny?" asked Fleur, as we were walking to the shop. 

"Yes?" I replied, annoyed. My mother turned around, as she was walking in front of me and narrowed her eyes at my tone of voice. "Yes?" I repeated, nicer this time.

"'Ave you zought of a colour you might like to wear for ze wedding?"

No, I hadn't, Fleur. I was secretly hoping you might kick me out of the wedding and never speak to me again. "Um, actually, I thought teal or aqua was a nice colour since it could go with my hair," I answered.

She smiled at me and turned towards her mother. "Mere, ow about teal?"

Her mother turned towards me and nodded. "Oui, zat vould be nice."

We kept walking until we reached the boutique, which was called Amelia's Closet. As we all piled in the store, I sat down on one of the pink armchairs perched near the windows. The rest of the family searched through dresses, trying to find the perfect one. It was terribly boring.

"Ginny!" called my mother. "Come over here and try this dress on!"

I groaned, got up and walked over to my mother who was holding an aqua-ish dress that looked like it went right to the floor. I sighed, it _did _look pretty. She handed the dress to me and pushed me into the closest dressing room.

After a few moments, I slowly stepped out of the dressing room. Walking to stand on the circular stage, I took a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Gosh, did the dress really look amazing on me. Everyone around me looked at me in awe.

"Oui, oui! Zat is ze perfect dress!" exclaimed Fleur. "We 'ave to get it!"

While everyone agreed to what Fleur was saying, I looked over to the window to see some guy walk past the boutique and stop to look inside. The guy had pale blond hair and wore all black; it was none other than Draco Malfoy.

I could've fainted at that point. Malfoy sightings in the same week! Trying not to dwindle on my thoughts, I looked back over to the window to see his figure walk across the street and into the bookstore.

Stepping down off the stage and into the dressing room, my thoughts began to jumble around in my head. _What was Malfoy doing here in muggle London? Why did he look into the shop? _But the thought that stood out the most was _maybe I can ask him why he really saved me_. And so I went with that thought.

* * *

After changing into my clothes, Fleur bought five aqua dresses and we left for lunch. All the while, my mind was working its way to an excuse of how I could get into the bookstore. 

"So, what restaurant are we going to?" I asked, hoping to sneak off when we got there.

"This very fancy french place that Fleur and Jean-Marie know," my mother replied.

"Ve're here!" exclaimed Fleur from in front of us.

We walked in and got seated quickly. Mother was right, the place was very fancy. I felt underdressed, as well as very nervous. I was going to ditch my family for a Malfoy of all people!

"Ginny, are you alright? You look a little nervous," asked my mother.

"A-actually I do feel a bit nauseous," I replied. "Maybe I'll go to the washroom and just _freshen_ myself up a bit."

They all nodded at me, while I got up to leave for the washroom. In there, I stood pacing around for a few moments. How could I get out of here? And would Malfoy still even be there? Looking to my right I noticed a small window. Perfect.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Escaping out of a window is so cliché. Yes, well to all of you, get the bloody hell out of here. I had no other way out. So, my hands grasped the ledge, which was above my head, and my feet took hold on the vent below me. I hauled the rest of my body up, and poked my head out the window. I twisted by body around and brought one foot up and over so that I was sitting straddling the window's ledge. I brought the other leg over and very graciously jumped down. Okay, so the last part didn't happen. I had brought my other leg over when I started to tip and almost fell head first into the ground. My hands had caught the ledge at the right moment and I, oh-so graciously hung from the window outside.

Jumping down, I brushed myself off and began walking across the street and looking for the bookstore Malfoy had gone in. Finding it down the street a bit, I pulled open the door and walked inside.

The store was about medium in size and the walls were covered with books from top to bottom. There were two floors and a small counter just a couple meters from me. I walked over to the counter and clicked on the little bell to single that I needed help.

A small, chubby man came out of the back room and walked behind the counter. "Anything you need help with Miss?" he asked.

"Um, my friend came in here a few minutes ago. Blond hair, wearing all black. Is he still here?" I answered.

The man nodded. "Yeah, I remember him. Strange bloke he was, but no, he's not here. He left just a few moments ago. Headed up the street, maybe you can still catch him."

"Thanks for the help," I said and left the store.

He had already left. I felt sad and I had no idea why. This was Malfoy I was talking about. Oh well, better head back to the restaurant.

I turned the corner and climbed up onto the window's ledge again. Mother would be worried about me. _She's probably already checked the washroom and found you weren't there. What are you gonna do then, Ginny? She'll be furious with you for sneaking off like that, and after a Malfoy boy, no less. Though, mother doesn't know why I left, so she can't be that ang-_

"Following me around, Weasel?" said a voice from the washroom.

I was pushed out of my thoughts and scared to hell and back when I saw that he was there. I very nearly broke my neck by falling off the ledge and into the washroom, but he was there just in time to catch me.

"Malfoy?!" I nearly shouted. "What are you doing here? In the ladies room?"

"You followed me into the bookstore," he stated simply.

"Anyone could walk in here and see you! Plus, my mother is probably terribly worried about me right now."

"Why did you follow me?"

I let out a sigh. "Did you just hear me?"

He looked at me. "Of course I did, you were standing in front of me. I just chose to ignore it."

"Well, whatever you're here for, you can just leave because my mother is worried about me."

"Why did you follow me?"

I took a different approach. "Why save me?"

He didn't even blink an eye. "Are we still on that? I thought we covered that."

I opened my mouth to speak when I heard some banging on the door. I looked at Malfoy. "You locked it!?"

"Of course I did. What were muggles going to think when they saw some random guy in the Ladies' room?"

"That you're a pervert?" I answered.

He stepped closer to me. "Weasley, whatever reason I saved you for is my business, not yours."

It was out of my mouth before I could stop it. "Just like Dumbledore's death, right?"

His body stiffened and his eyes grew angry. "Don't talk about things that you don't know the facts to, it'll only get you in trouble."

He stepped away from me once more, looked back at the locked door and then back at me. "I'll be seeing you, Weasley," he said before disapparating.

I sighed. I was very stressed out. After unlocking the door and dealing with the many ladies who were outside the washroom, I made my way over to where we were seated.

"Ginny, you missed all of lunch!" my mother exclaimed. "I went to check on you and the door was locked. Did you do that?"

No, mom. That was Draco Malfoy who has been occupying my mind for the better part of the week. I nodded. "I just got sick in the middle of the floor and had to _clean _up," I replied.

"Anyone could have seen you!"

"Mom, the door was locked. There's one window in there that looks fairly high up. I'm pretty sure no one saw me."

I looked around at the table and notice that the better half of the party had left. "Where did Fleur go?"

"They had to leave early to go get the flower arrangements, but I stayed to wait for my daughter. And since you're here, we can leave now."

* * *

"How was dress shopping?" asked a voice from behind me. 

Without turning to see who it was, I sat down on the grass and waited for them to sit beside me. "Fine," I answered.

"What colour is it?" they asked again, while coming to sit down beside me.

"Didn't Phlegm tell everyone?"

"No, she wants to keep it a secret for the wedding. But, maybe you could tell me."

I sighed. "Why are you here, Harry?"

He looked at me and frowned. "To ask about your day."

"Bullshit. What's the real reason you're here?"

He turned to look at the sunset and sighed. "It's just that you've been really distant lately and I want to know why."

I looked at him. "Harry, I know you haven't been paying attention to me since before the, uh, funeral."

"You're right, I haven't. But, you're everything to me Gin, and Voldemort and his followers are doing everything to destroy those that are closest to me, and you cannot be apart of that."

I think my heart may have melted when he said that I was his everything. "Harry, he's gonna come after me, us, the Weasley's anyways."

He nodded. "Yes, I've already figured that. But, maybe I can keep him away from you guys for a longer period of time than what he may have planned." He sighed. "I just don't want to see anyone get hurt."

"I know I'm supposed to say everything's going to be alright and no one's going to get hurt, but that would be a lie." I paused and looked at Harry. "People are going to get hurt, Harry, a lot of people. And some will die, and some will get injured and maybe some will even get as badly hurt as Neville's parents. And everything may never be alright, but people will deal with it the best way they can, because that's what we do."

He nodded. "You're way better at the whole speech thing than Ron or Hermione. They just tell me what I want to hear, it gets old sometimes."

I grinned. "Well, that's what I'm here for."

He grinned as well and started to stand. "Is it okay if I just leave now? I'm supposed to be meeting with Professor McGonagall in a few minutes."

"Of course you can go Harry. I'll just watch the rest of the sunset," I replied.

He waved goodbye and headed inside.

I did watch the rest of the sunset that day. It was truly beautiful; it seemed like the rest of our days could be as beautiful and as peaceful as it was then. But, and there's always a but, I knew that it wouldn't happen. Because it never happens. Not in reality anyways.

* * *

**A.N::** Good or Bad? Please review and tell me what you think. 

_xo_


	5. Chapter Five: Weddings and Returns

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. But here it is, finally.**

* * *

**Chapter Five: Weddings and Returns**

* * *

Everything was white. White tables, white chairs and it even looked like the sky was cleared just for today. Needless to say, it was exceptionally beautiful.

Fleur decided that the accent colour would not be pink. Instead, it would be aqua to match the bridesmaids' dresses. And it looked prettier than I had originally pictured it.

The morning of the wedding was pretty hectic. All the women bustled in at the top of the house while all the men were downstairs. My mother was freaking out the most since she had to get everything together.

The bride was in one room while the bridesmaids' were in another. My mother and Fleur's mother, Jean-Marie were in my room and myself, Gabrielle and two of Fleur's cousins Alexandria and Daniella were packed into Charlie's old room.

After hours and hours of getting ready, the wedding was about to start. Everyone had been seated outside with the Priest, Bill and his best man, which was Charlie, standing at the front.

The pianist began to play and the flower girls started walking down the aisle with the bridesmaids' trailing behind.

To tell you the truth, it was hard for me to walk down the aisle with everyone staring at me, especially Harry. He looked at me with love in his eyes and I almost ran back into the house.

The ceremony was half and hour long and Bill and Fleur had made their own vows. They both had great and teary speeches.

But, finally it was time for the reception!

* * *

"You look beautiful, Gin," commented Hermione as we were sitting down at our table of eight. It was Hermione, Ron, Harry, myself, the twins and Alicia and Angelina. 

I grinned and blushed. "Thanks Hermione."

"God, they look so happy," she sighed, looking at Bill and Fleur dancing. "I want to be that happy."

"I know who could make you happy, Hermione," said George, poking Ron in the arm.

Hermione blushed and I laughed.

"George! Fred! Let's dance!" exclaimed Alicia and Angelina.

The four of them left and now it was just Hermione, myself, Harry and Ron. The boys looked like they were in a deep discussion about something. I could hear bits of their conversation.

"...are you kidding me?!" Ron had whispered by the way his eyes were almost coming out of his head.

"…don't, you'll be sitting here all night eating cake," Harry whispered back.

"…bloody hell, Harry! She'll say no!" Ron looked in our direction then back to Harry.

Oh, so Harry wanted Ron to ask Hermione to dance. I nudged Hermione with my elbow. She glared at me.

"Ask Ron to dance," I whispered.

Her eyes widened. "No way! He'd never say yes!" she exclaimed.

I nodded towards the boys. "Ron wants to ask you, but he's too much of a wimp. C'mon Hermione, where's the Gryffindor in you?"

She glared at me and sighed. "Fine," she huffed and stood up. She walked over to Ron and Harry.

"H-hermione?" Ron stuttered.

"I like this song. Dance with me?" she asked.

I didn't think Ron's eyes could get any bigger. But then he controlled himself and nodded, taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor.

"So, uh, Gin?" came Harry's voice from beside me.

I whipped around to find him on my left side. Gosh! When did he move that quickly? I took a deep breath and replied, "Yes, Harry?"

"Do you, uh, wanna, uhm, you see," he paused and looked at me then at Ron and Hermione then at me again.

I giggled. "Harry, do you wanna dance?"

He sighed with relief and nodded. He got up, took me by the hand and led me to the dance floor where the DJ was playing a slow song. I shakily put my hands around his neck and he put his hands around my waist. We swayed to the music.

After the song ended, I moved to unwrap my arms from his neck, but he held me in place. He grinned. "C'mon Gin, one more dance?"

I bit my lip and nodded. We started swaying to the music again. In actuality, I really didn't want to dance with Harry again. I loved Harry, gosh, did I love him. But, just knowing that he didn't want us to be together was enough to make me want to hex him or cry.

My hands started to get clammy and my throat started to close up. I couldn't do this. I pushed away from Harry. "I can't do this," I muttered and walked away into the house.

* * *

"Did you even stay for the rest of the reception?" asked a voice to my left. 

I turned over in my bed, the covers rumpling beneath me. "Do we have to talk about this now? Gabrielle's here," I replied, motioning to the cot at the front of the room.

"Don't worry," Hermione said, "I put a silencing charm around us so she can't hear."

I sighed and turned back over to glare at the ceiling. I stayed quiet for a long time. "I came back outside when everyone was leaving and Fred and George set off their gift for Fleur and Bill."

"Harry thinks you're mad at him," Hermione whispered.

"I'm not mad at him per se, I just can't be near him without being upset."

"He loves you, he just can't have you in danger and that's why he broke up with you."

I looked at her. "If he loved me, he wouldn't care about the obstacles." I sighed. "I'm going to sleep now, don't talk to me."

* * *

"It's good to be back," said a voice from in front of me. 

"Technically, we're not _back _yet," I replied.

Ron gave me a look and turned back around. "Are we all here, then?"

Hermione appeared beside me and nodded. "I was just talking to your mom and she said that if any of us leave to go off _frolicking _and You-Know-Who hunting, she'll make sure we were never born."

I noticed that Harry rolled his eyes beside me. "We best get on the train then," I said, and started up the steps not waiting for them to follow me.

After finally finding a compartment, I sat down on one of the seats and took out a book to read. A couple minutes later, the trio burst in.

"Guess who we ran into?" was the first thing out of Ron's mouth when he stormed in.

"Who?" I wondered out loud, tucking my book away and looking up at them.

I noticed that Ron and Harry were looking angry. Ron was all red in the face and Harry was just quiet, but you could see in his eyes that he was very upset about something. The boys took a seat across from me, while Hermione sat down beside me.

"Malfoy!" hissed Harry, fists clenching at his sides.

"What?" I asked surprised. I thought that after those chance encounters that I'd not see him again, plus after last year…well, I thought it wouldn't happen. "He's here?"

"Yeah, we found him in a compartment when we were looking for you," replied Hermione. "He was alone too."

"Oh," I said.

"But I have happier news!" exclaimed Hermione, putting on a smile.

The boys looked up as did I.

"As you know, I made Head Girl," she paused at this and the both Harry and Ron rolled their eyes. "But I found out who made Head Boy!"

"Who?" I asked.

"Ernie Macmillian," Hermione answered.

"The Hufflepuff?!" blurted Ron, with a disgusted look on his face.

"He's not that bad once you get to know him," retorted Hermione.

"When did you talk to him?"

"I was partners with him last year for Muggle Studies."

I stood up; I needed to get out of here. "I need to…pee," I said, making up an excuse. Walking out of the compartment, I realized I had nowhere else to go. I decided to just walk around.

I should've realized this was a bad idea. Everyone whose anyone knows that Crabbe and Goyle walk around the train looking for food and students to pick on. Malfoy used to do that with them, but I don't think he'd be there anymore.

So, poor little ol' Ginny Weasley was walking down the train, far off from where the trio was and guess who she saw coming towards her? If you didn't guess Crabbe and Goyle, you might be very stupid. Go see a doctor or something, mkay?

Anyways, there I was, alone and up in front of me, about 5 compartments away, was Crabbe and Goyle. Now usually I wouldn't be afraid of them, but usually I had my brother or Harry or _someone _by me. But, alas, I was here alone, standing pathetically still. Yep, I was going to be getting pummeled.

They were coming closer, I stayed still. Closer and closer, until…and arm grabbed me and pulled me into a compartment, shutting the doors close. A hand was placed over my mouth. Oh great, another good way to die.

"What are you doing?" hissed the voice from above me.

I looked up. Of course, it had to be him. Who else would it be? I tried to pry his hand off my mouth and say something but he stopped me.

"Shh," he whispered, his eyes focusing on the door.

We watched as the two looming figures of Crabbe and Goyle stopped outside our compartment for a moment, then continued on down the hall.

Malfoy sighed in relief and let go of my mouth. "What the hell were you doing?" he said once he released me.

I whipped around to face him. "Not that it's any of your business, but I was clearing my head. I _was_ with the trio, afterall," I replied.

He shook his head and sat down on one of the seats; I took one across from him.

"They came in here a while ago," he said after a moment of silence.

I nodded. "Yeah, they told me after they found out what compartment I was in. They were surprised and quite angry."

He nodded. "Of course they were."

Another moment of silence; I should've left by now, but I really didn't want to return to my compartment.

"Granger made Head Girl," Malfoy commented.

I nodded. "She's really excited."

"Figures."

After a few more minutes, I stood up. "I need to head back; they'll be worried about me," I said.

He nodded and let me go. Upon returning to the compartment, I found Harry was alone. Hermione and Ron had gone to the Prefects/Heads Meeting.

Harry tried to talk to me, but he realized that I didn't want to talk to him. Looking out the window, I closed my eyes.

* * *

"Gin? Gin! Wake up!" whispered someone from above me, pushing my arm lightly. 

I blinked a couple times; the figure in front of me was Hermione.

"We're here," she said. "The boys are already off the train so hurry up." She walked out of the compartment with Crookshanks at her heels.

I looked out the window; a beautiful sight. Hogwarts and the lake were stretched into my view.

"We're here," I whispered, "I'm home."

* * *

**A/N:: Thank you so much for the wait. I've been really busy, but I have been working on this chapter for a while. And the characters are finally back at school, so they'll be some good stuff coming up.**

**Please review. I love to hear from you.**

**xo**


	6. Chapter Six: The First Day

**_Disclaimer: I own the plot and nothing else. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling_**

**A.N.:: Thank you for the reviews. I have not been in the mood to write at all, but lately and since school is ending, I thought to check back on my account. I really wanna get back into this for the summer, so here it goes.**

* * *

The ceremony was fairly long, of course, but there was less students than usual because the parents felt that Hogwarts had become unsafe. The staff table looked bare without Professor Dumbledore and everyone except Slytherin, looked upset as Professor or Headmistress McGonagall was talking. Harry, Ron and Hermione were whispering non-stop throughout the ceremony. It was quite annoying. 

"...And now, this year's Head Boy and Head Girl are Ernie Macmillian and Hermione Granger," spoke McGonagall. "Now, the feast may begin." And with a wave of her hand, food appeared on the tables.

Colin and Fawna were across from me. I became friends with Colin in my first year after we both realized we had an obsession with Harry. Though, after that we realized we had much more in common and became fast friends. Fawna was quite quiet her first year here, but when the second year came, she was placed beside me in Transfiguration, and I noticed she was extremely nice.

"How was your summer, Gin?" asked Colin, reaching for the bread.

I should have told them about Malfoy because they are my best friends, but I needed to keep him a secret for longer. "Bill and Fleur's wedding was a couple weeks ago, so the whole family was getting ready with that," I replied. "Hermione and Harry were there too."

"Was it any fun?" asked Fawna.

"It was alright. Everyone looked amazing though." I looked down the table to where the trio was, they were still talking in hushed whispers. "What about you guys?"

After a few minutes of listening to Fawna go on about how her mother, a muggle, had taken all four kids go on a camping trip the whole summer, I zoned out. I looked around the room, noticing many changes in how many students were seated at each table. When looking at the Slytherin table, my eyes fell upon Malfoy who was sitting all alone. I scanned the table, almost all the seventh year Slytherins had returned including Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott. I looked back to Malfoy again; he was looking at me too, questioningly. I quickly dropped my eyes.

"...and my dad totally tipped over the boat. Isn't that funny, Gin?"

I quickly turned back to Fawna. I shook my head. "Sorry, I guess I zoned out for a moment. What were you saying, Fay?"

* * *

"I saw you looking over at the Slytherin table during dinner," stated Fawna from her bed next to mine. It was close to midnight and i hadn't been able to sleep. 

I turned over and tried to look at her in the dark. "I guess I was looking at Malfoy. It's kind of weird seeing him here and the rest of them, isn't it?"

I could see her figure nod in the dark. "Kind of scary. Wonder why they came back?"

"Who knows?" I muttered.

"Goodnight, Gin," whispered Fawna, hearing her turn over in bed.

"Goodnight, Fay," I whispered back.

* * *

I am the early bird in my family. Waking up at six a.m. with absolutely no grumpy feelings, yep, that was me. Why would today be any different? I woke up at six and hopped in the shower. After getting dressed, I walked to the Great Hall; breakfast would be on from six to nine. I knew no one usually woke up this early, so I figured no one would be there. And of course, I was wrong. 

Walking in to the Great Hall, I noticed three things. One, there was only one table because there's not many people up at this time. Two, I wasn't the only person who liked waking up early, and lastly, the only other person who woke up this early had blonde hair and was a member of Slytherin. Draco Malfoy was the only other person in the Hall, which was kind of crazy.

Malfoy hadn't noticed me yet, so I walked slowly down the aisle to my usual spot if I were at the Gryffindor table. I tried to be as quiet as possible sitting down, but I banged my knee into the table, which sent a shake down the rest of the table. Malfoy looked up from what he was reading and noticed me. I looked at him, he looked at me and then he went back to reading.

I sat down and silently wished he had said something but that was stupid. I grabbed some toast and orange juice and went about my meal. After finishing, I got up, grabbed my books from beside and headed to the library. I wished he would say something to stop me, but he didn't.

* * *

The rest of the day went fairly well. The classes were smaller, but everything went well. Homework was piled on, even on the first day, so I headed to the library after my last class to get a jump start on the homework. I picked a table near the back and started on my Muggle Studies homework. I looked down at the first page of my notes. 

**_Famous People in History_**

_1. Who is Albert Einstein and what did he do?_

I remembered reading about him over the summer. Hermione had gone out one day with the boys and left her book lying around. I left my homework out on the table and walked over to the Muggle Studies section.

After finding the book I needed, whcih was on the top shelf, I tried lamelessly to get it. An arm reached up from behind me and plucked the book off the shelf and handed it to me.

"Thanks," I said, turning around.

"No problem, Weasley," said Malfoy and walked away.

I stood there for a few moments then walked quickly back to my table to finish my studies.

* * *

Walking into the Gryffindor common room a few hours later, I noticed the trio was doing their homework and _not _whispering about anything. I went over to them. "Hey, guys. What's up?" I asked, taking a seat on the couch beside Ron.

"We're doing homework. Can you believe they give us this much homework on the first day back," complained Ron.

I laughed. "They always give us this much, brother dearest," I replied, softly punching him in the arm.

Harry laughed and then his face turned angry. "What's wrong, Harry?" I asked.

"I just can't believe Malfoy is here after last year," he replied. "You would think he would have gone out in hiding or something. And the rest of them are back to!"

Hermione sighed. "Oh Harry, we're all mad at this, but McGonagall must have had a good reason to keep them here."

"Whatever," Harry replied, dismissing us.

I got up from where I was sitting and headed towards the girls' dormitory. "I'm gonna take a shower and go to bed. Goodnight."

* * *

I woke up in a cold sweat after a bad nightmare with Tom. I quickly glanced at my clock. It read _1:13. _I dropped my head back on the pillow and sighed. The nightmares had already started. Then, my stomach growled. I was hungry because I did miss dinner to finish my homework. I decided to go down to the kitched for a late night snack.

Getting out of bed and out of the common room was easy. But, walking down the corridor to the kitchen in my pajamas was quite hard. All the portraits were sleeping and there was no sounds except my socked feet hitting the stone.

I turned a corner and almost died when I saw Malfoy walking this way. He hadn't noticed me and he seemed to walking very quickly.

"Draco!" called a voice from behind him. It was Parkinson's voice.

To avoid confrontation, I slipped into an aclove in the wall and peered out at what was happening.

"Draco!" she called again, catching up with him and grabbing his shirt "You can't outrun us forever."

"Let go, Pansy," he muttered, wretching himself free. "Let it go."

She sighed. "You can't stay silent forever," she whispered, and then turned and walked away.

He rubbed his hands over his face and groaned. "I can sure try," he muttered, and walked away in the opposite direction of Pansy.

After staying for a few moments longer in the aclove, I quickly jumped out and ran back up to Gryffindor tower. Once safely in my bed, all I could think about were two things. One, I didn't get to have any food. And two, _what the hell just happened back there_? What was going on with him and the rest of Slytherin? I needed to keep my distance from him was my last thought before I fell asleep.

* * *

**A.N; **Done. Review and tell me what you think.

_xo_


	7. Chapter Seven: Quidditch & Propositions

**_Disclaimer: The plot is mine. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling._**

**A.N; Already back for another chapter. Btw, does anyone know what the website is for the dramione awards?**

* * *

"Gin!" called a voice from behind me. I turned to see Harry come up behind me. "Are you coming out for Quidditch this year?" 

"They're still having it?" I asked, stopping in place.

"Well, McGonagall wasn't too sure at first, but she thinks it'll keep our minds of what's happening."

"Fat chance," I muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing," I replied. "Is Slytherin able to play?"

Harry's eyes darkened at this. "Unfortunately so," he answered, angrily. "And even worse, they're still letting Malfoy be Captain! It's like they're rewarding him for what happened last year!"

I looked at Harry. "Harry, trust me, he won't play."

"How do you know?"

I sighed. "Can you see him bossing anyone around?" I replied. "He hasn't spoken a word to anyone since we arrived." Except me.

"Maybe. Or maybe he's doing this to gloat in my face," said Harry.

"If he wanted to brag to you, he would have done it by now. It's been a week since school started and he hasn't made a comment to anyone in Gryffindor or anyone else that I've seen." I looked at Harry. "But to answer your question, yeah, I will try out for Quidditch this year. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have Herbology to get to." And with that I left.

* * *

The next time I saw him, he was sitting alone under a tree by the edge of the lake. His blonde hair shone bright in the sun. I knew I shouldn't have gone over to him, but, well, he was kind of hard to avoid. In the last week, we had bumped into each other eleven times. So, what was one more going to do? 

I walked slowly up behind me. I guess he heard footsteps because he whipped around. He stared at me. "Hi," I said, weakly.

"What do you want, Weasley?" he asked, annoyed and alert.

"Harry told me that quidditch was starting up again and he mentioned you're still captain," I replied, walking over to where he was sitting.

"Surprised?" he asked, looking up at me.

I sat down across from him. "Yeah, it's just weird, I guess because after what happened..." I trailed off, not wanting to continue the sentence.

He looked at me with a stone look on his face. "I'm playing this year, but I don't wanna be Captain. I told McGonagall to reassign the Captain position to Nott," he stated. He waited a moment. "I answered your question. You can leave now."

I opened my mouth to say something then closed it. I got up from the grass and walked back towards the castle. It wasn't going to any use talking to him. He didn't want my help and I can't give him it. So, what's the point?

* * *

"Ginny!" called a voice from below me. "That's the third time you've dropped the ball!" 

I flew down to where Harry was standing. "I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind right now. I'll try to play better," I replied.

"Yeah, but it's no use now, it's almost time for supper," he said. He looked up towards the players flying around in circles above him. "Okay, everyone! Next practice is Thursday at four p.m." he shouted upwards. Then headed off towards the castle.

Still sitting on the broom, I waited for ten minutes until I was the only person left outside and then began flying in circles around the pitch. It must have been at least fifteen minutes before I heard the voice.

"Pretty crappy practice today, Weasley," commented a voice from my right.

I looked over to the Slytherin stands and saw Malfoy's head in the distance. I flew over to him and saw him peel off the rest of his cloak; invisibility cloak, that is.

"You don't insult anyone, but you spy on another team's practice. I knew the old Malfoy was in there somewhere," I said, floating beside the stands.

He looked at me coldly. "Just hop over here for a sec, I have a proposition for you."

I could have said no, should have said no, but this intrigued me. So, I floated over to the stands and jumped off my broom to the floor of the stands, watching my broom fall downwards to the grass. Sitting next to him, I looked at him. We were silent for a few more minutes. I was getting impatient. "What do you need to ask me?" I asked.

"You're not in the greatest shape, Weasley. I saw you flying out there," stated Malfoy. "And I'm definitely not in the greatest shape either, so my proposition for you is to get in shape with me for the Quidditch season."

I looked at him then laughed. "Are you kidding?"

"I'm serious. You and I will run together every morning at six for close to an hour," he replied. "We'll both be able to get in shape for quidditch and then we can avoid each other at any other time instead of bumping into each other every hour of the day."

I looked out onto the grounds and nodded. "I guess that could work. Six tomorrow then?"

He nodded, said goodbye and left.

I was left alone in the stands with just my thoughts. I groaned. _What had I just agreed to?_

* * *

**A.N; Short, I know. I'm trying to work on making chapters longer, but so far it's not working. I'll try to make the next one longer and more full with action and drama. Review!**

xo


	8. Chapter Eight: OSF TSB

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. JK Rowling does. I own the Plot though._**

**A.N; **It's been awhile, hasn't it? I wasn't going to add to the story because I thought I was out of ideas, but this scene popped into my head just now. Hope you like it.

* * *

**One Step Forward; Two Steps Back**

* * *

I looked at myself in the mirror, silently contemplating whether or not I was actually going to go through with this. Afterall, just because Draco and I had talked a few times didn't make us friends; or running buddies. I checked the clock and groaned. I had fifteen more minutes to get down to the Quidditch Pitch before time was up.

I sighed, took one more look in the mirror then walked back to bed. Afterall, it was only Malfoy and I didn't care about him, and he sure as hell, couldn't care about me.

-----

"Why is Malfoy looking at us?" asked Ron, glancing at Harry.

I whipped around, only to catch him turning to Blaise Zabini beside him. I could sense that he was angry I hadn't shown up this morning.

Harry looked up. "He's probably up to something," he said, glaring darkly at Draco before returning his attention to the Daily Prophet.

"Anyone we know?" asked Hermione from beside me, brushing off the subject of Draco.

"Just says that a couple of wizards are missing since the attack on Diagon Alley," Harry replied, glancing at me for a moment. I shifted my eyes away from him.

Ron turned to me. "Good thing that Ravenclaw student found you, or we might have never seen you again."

I blushed and looked down. "Yeah, good thing," I mumbled, casting a look over my shoulder at Draco as the continued talking.

-----

The whole day had gone exceptionally well since breakfast. There had been no Draco sightings. But, the day was not over yet.

"Can you believe that test McGonagall gave us, Gin?" asked Colin, as the two of us walked to the library. "I thought for sure I would fail."

"I thought it was quite easy," I replied, pushing the hair out of my eyes.

"Of course you would Gin, you're incredibly intelligent."

I blushed and looked away.

"Woo-hoo, what do we have here?" sneered a voice from the shadows.

I inwardly groaned. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

"Nothing from the likes of a pathetic Weasley and a dirty mudblood," he sneered, narrowing his eyes at me, while Colin gasped from behind me.

I narrowed my eyes at Draco. "Take. That. Back." I demanded, letting each word have the full effect of the meaning.

He laughed coldly. "Which one?"

"You know which one."

Colin glanced nervously between the two of us.

"Well, he _is _a mudblood. And so is Granger. So I guess that makes you a mudblood lover."

I slowly removed my wand from my front pocket, letting the anger rise in me.

Noticing my wand, he smirked. "Now, now, don't do anything stupid, Weasley. We wouldn't want you to get in trouble, mudblood lover," whispering the last part, so only I could hear it.

I snapped, brought my wand up and cast the Bat Bogey Hex at him. Seeing him squirm, I grabbed Colin and walked around Malfoy. "Ferret," I whispered at him.

Colin laughed from beside me. "That was brilliant, Gin. Thanks for standing up for me."

"Au contraire, Miss Weasley," said a voice from behind me.

I turned around to see Professor Slughorn behind me.

"That will be fifty points from Gryffindor and a dentention for you tomorrow night."

I sighed. One step forward, two steps back.

* * *

**A.N: **Done! Let me know what you think. Doing the chapter like so, makes it easier to keep plot bunnies open 

_xo_


	9. Chapter Nine: Conversations and Meetings

**A/N: **Yes, it's been 3 years, and I was finally inspired to write again, at least for this fic, after reading it just a couple days ago. I believe I have gotten to be a much better writer over time, looking back on the previous chapters and the other stories seem just a little funny to me because they are so out of character. Tried to keep everyone in character in this chapter, and hopefully I'll continue writing. Who knows if the original viewers are even reading this? Haha, it really has been that long. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the characters or the Harry Potter franchise. The idea, however, is mine.

**Conversations & Meetings**

I gathered my hair up in a ponytail and secured it with an elastic. Knowing Professor Slughorn, he would probably make the detention something to do with me getting dirt on me. He was Head of Slytherin afterall.

I walked down the dungeons towards the Potions classroom where my detention would be held. I dreaded what Professor Slughorn would make me do, and I hoped that it would be something time-consuming so that my time could go faster.

I pushed open the classroom's door to find Professor Slughorn seated at his desk in front of me. He was hunched over, scribbling furiously, but when the door clicked behind me, he looked up.

"Miss Weasley," he started, "On time, I see." He looked down at his watch. "We shall wait for the other student to join us before beginning our detention, alright? Take a seat please." He gestured towards one of the desks in front of him, and I sat down.

I wondered who the other student could be when the sound of shuffling feet made me turn.

"Weasley?" came the outraged voice from behind me.

"Parkinson?" I retorted.

Professor Slughorn clapped his hands together, to bring our focus to the front. "Now, now, let's get started shall we?"

"I don't know if I can work with _her_," Pansy said from beside me where she stood.

Slughorn's eyes narrowed. "Well, Miss Parkinson, I was going to assign you separate tasks, but I think that you two shall work together on a project."Slughorn then turned to the wall behind me, while Pansy made a moan of disgust beside me.

"You two shall rearrange this bookshelf and potion shelf alphabetically. I'll be in the room next door. You may call me back when the shelves are done." He paused. "And no magic." With that, he left the room and closed the door behind him.

I shuffled next to Pansy, unsure of where to start first. I turned to her, and opened my mouth when she stopped me.

"Here's what's going to happen, She-Weasel," she started, tilting her head to the side and positioning her hands on her hips. "The bookshelf will be done first, by author alphabetically and then by title alphabetically. I'll start at the end of the alphabet, you begin and the beginning and we'll meet in the middle." She jerked her head at the potion shelf behind her. "Same thing with that, I'll do the end, and you the beginning."

I nodded, who knew Pansy was so organized? "That's fi-", I was interrupted by Pansy once more.

"And keep your mouth shut around me, Weasley. No talking at all. I would like to get out of here as fast as I can." With that, she turned on her heel and walked over to the bookshelf and began pulling the books off the shelf to start arranging the books in order.

I rolled my eyes, but walked over to join her. I wanted to get out of detention quickly too. We worked in silence and were able to finish arranging the bookshelf in under an hour. We moved on to the potions shelf next and began working in silence again, until I heard Pansy give a mumbled moan.

I turned to look at her quizzically, and noticed that she was clenching and unclenching her left fist. "Are you okay?" I asked, making it a point to look at her covered left arm.

"I'm fine, Weasley," she replied, barely managing to choke it out as she winced in pain. "Stop looking at my fucking arm."

"It obviously hurts," I acknowledged. "Is someone calling you?"

She whipped her head at me at lightning speed. "Did you seriously just ask me that, Weasley?" She paused to sneer at me before she began again. "The fact that you just asked me that shows me how fucking stupid you are. I'm going to be watching you." She stood up and leaned over me. "Tell Slughorn that I went to the washroom, we're almost done here anyway." Pansy turned and walked quietly out the door.

I mentally slapped myself. Why would I ask her that? Because I want to know what happened last year, and the situation with her and Malfoy. I slowly finished rearranging the potion bottles before letting Professor Slughorn know that Pansy and I had finished. I walked out the door and headed back to Gryffindor Tower for a (hopefully) good night's rest.

I woke up to the sun blaring through the window. I rubbed my eyes and yawned. I actually did have a peaceful sleep, even with the conversation with Parkinson looming in my mind. I got dressed and made my way down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Ginny!" Fawna yelled, waving me over. I made my way to sit down across from her. "How was detention last night? We heard Parkinson whining that she had to endure detention with you, but we, obviously feel sorry for you." Colin nodded from beside her.

I snuck a look at the Slytherin table before talking. Parkinson was in deep conversation with Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott, who kept peering over at the Gryffindor table. Malfoy was situated a few seats down from them, who was clearly trying to overhear their discussion.

I turned back to Fawna and Colin. "Honestly, it wasn't that bad for the most part. We just worked in silence." They smiled a little.

There was a flutter of wings overhead, and students looked up, including me, to see the mail coming in. A small letter was dropped in front of me with the letter _G _scrawled on the front of it.

"Who's that from?" asked Colin, "Expecting mail?"

I shook my head in confusion, and peeled off the emblem on the back to open the envelope. A crest of arms? The letter was short and to the point.

_G,_

_Meet me in the owlrey at exactly 9:15. It's important._

_-M._

I glanced at Malfoy's seat and noticed that it was empty. Then, I glanced at my watch. It was just after 9.

"So, what's it say?" asked Fawna.

"Just some mail from the twins, asking about prospective business ideas. But, I'm going to head out early and grab some notes before class." I said goodbye to them, and quickly walked to the owlrey, nervous butterflies in my stomach.

I swiftly climbed the stairs, each shoe creating a hard hitting sound as I raced up the stairs. I arrived a little out of breath, just as I turned into the entrance way. Malfoy was leaning against one of the railings, facing me as I walked in.

"Weasley," he said, upon my arrival.

"Malfoy, what is this about?" I asked, walking over to him, stopping just a bit away.

"First of all, you missed our run time, but that's not important."

I rolled my eyes. "Then why bring it up." I sighed. "C'mon Malfoy, we're not friends, we're not buddies. We just keep running into each other, and to think that we're gonna have running dates is stupid beyond belief."

"True," he replied, "Why come meet me then?"

I shuffled my feet.

"See?" he said, his hands returning to his pockets. "You're interested in what I actually have to say. We are not friends, and we may be close to enemies, but you're interested in my business."

"Only because of why you returned to school," I admitted. "If last year hadn't of happened the way it did, would we be talking like this?"

His eyes narrowed, and he moved his shoulders a little trying to relax. "How about we just get to the topic at hand here? What I wrote to you in the letter was not about our running times."

I shrugged, annoyed a tiny bit. "Fine."

"Pansy came into the common room last night, bloody peeved at her detention with you. I like to study in the corner of the lounge not near any of the other housemates, however, it is the only corner that was nearest the fireplace where she gathered Greengrass and Bulstrode. Apparently, she couldn't find Nott or Zabini last night, but she talked to them this morning at breakfast." He paused to catch his breath. "I heard what happened between you and her at the detention. Are you really that stupid to ask about her arm?"

I threw my hands up in the air. "Apparently so. But c'mon, she does have the Mark!"

"Either way, you do not ask a Slytherin, especially one who has other ties to darker wizards, about whether she has it or not!"

"Technically, I didn't ask her," I replied.

"You're getting yourself into hot water with her, Weasley. She is really on the lookout for you."

"And so what? You're here to help me?" I argued.

"We don't need another war here at Hogwarts," Malfoy answered.

"Don't you mean, we don't need another year like last year?"

Malfoy stepped towards me. "Don't even get started on that, Weasley, or you'll regret it. Have a nice life." He walked past me and out the entrance. "Oh, and say hi to Pansy for me." He called over his shoulder.

I sighed, and rubbed a hand through my hair. I had screwed things up, again, with the guy who just warned me about a vengeful Parkinson who was on my tail. I could've at least thanked him. I snorted a little, fed up with myself, and headed back down the stairs to continue the rest of the day and watch my back.

**A/N:** Please Review!


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